History of Maritime Electric

Incorporation and Establishment on PEI

In 2018, Maritime Electric is celebrating its 100th year of operation on PEI. The Company was incorporated in Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1917. In 1918, with the purchase of the Charlottetown Light and Power Company, Maritime Electric expanded its operations in PEI. In 1931, Maritime Electric initiated a program of expansion into rural areas with the purchase of the Montague Electric Company. By 1950, the Company had purchased seven rural electric companies. In 1965, Maritime Electric acquired Canelco Services Limited (formerly Scales Hydro). With that purchase, the era of electrical power service by small independent generators was brought to a close.

During the following years Maritime Electric expanded its service territory and continued to increase the capacity and efficiency of its plant to produce electricity at the lowest possible cost for Islanders. In 1977, two 138 kV submarine cables were installed across the Northumberland Strait, providing an interconnection with NB Power to meet the Island’s growing need for electricity.

Maritime Electric Today

Maritime Electric is the primary distributor of electricity in PEI, serving approximately 80,000 customers including the City of Charlottetown and all rural communities. The balance of the population is served by the City of Summerside which operates its own electric utility and purchases power from Maritime Electric.

The Company operates an approximately 780 km transmission system at 69 kV and 138 kV and approximately 5,200 km of distribution lines at a variety of voltage levels. Its generating facilities in PEI have a total installed capacity of approximately 145 MW. The Charlottetown Thermal Generating Station has five heavy oil fired units with a combined capacity of 55 MW as well as a diesel fired combustion turbine with a capacity of 50 MW. The Borden Generating Station has two diesel fired combustion turbines with a combined capacity of 40 MW.

In 2016/17 Maritime Electric (along with NB Power) acted as construction agents in a collaborative partnership between the Government of Canada and the Government of Prince Edward to import electricity from New Brunswick through two new 180 MW submarine cables, overhead transmission lines and substation upgrades. The new submarine cables are owned by the Province of Prince Edward Island and are leased to and operated by Maritime Electric.

The Company purchases electricity from NB Power under contractual entitlement to the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station via the four existing submarine cables.

The Company has also contracted with the PEI Energy Corporation to purchase a total of 92 MW from government-owned wind farms in North Cape, Eastern Kings and Hermanville/Clear Springs. Prince Edward Island has the highest level of wind integration in North America with the Island's eight wind farms providing a combined generating capacity of 203 MW.

Ownership and Regulation

Maritime Electric owns and operates a fully integrated system providing for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to customers throughout Prince Edward Island. The Company is a Public Utility regulated by the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) under the Electric Power Act and the Renewable Energy Act. Electricity rates and directives over all operations and expenditures are subject to IRAC's approval. Maritime Electric Company Limited is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortis Inc.

Fortis Inc. is a diversified holding company created in 1987, with total assets of approximately $47 billion. All Fortis operations are carried out through its subsidiaries and affiliates. Fortis’ head office is located in St. John’s, Newfoundland.